A Rose by any other Name
by Tylianna
Summary: An angsty one shot. EPOV He feels that he has found true love but she pulls away. He suspects that she might be depressed and all he wants to do is be there for her. Edward/Bella story. All human/Alternate universe


**A/N: Just wanted to write something a little different. **

I looked at the clock. 3:30_. Shit, I need to get some sleep, _I thought. I pulled Rosalie closer to me. She had just calmed down from a nightmare and was falling into another fitful sleep. I ran my fingers through her blonde hair and I could smell the sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo. I nuzzled my nose into it and dozed to sleep.

**

I awoke to her alarm blaring in my ear. I slammed my hand onto the snooze button and rolled over, but she was not there. I called for her, but she didn't answer. I stretched and got up to look for her. I heard the shower running so she must have woke up earlier than usual, which was strange since she was definitely not a morning person. Since I had to be at work before her, I needed to get ready and go, so I knocked on the door so I could tell her goodbye.

"Hey, I'll meet you at the hospital, okay? We can try to have lunch together," I said. She was a maternity nurse and I was a pediatrician and there were not many times where our schedules allowed us to take breaks together, but we still tried.

There was no reply, so I knocked again and opened the door. "Baby, are you okay?" I asked while I stepped into the bathroom. I peeked behind the shower curtain and she was sitting on the floor crying. I jumped in and scooped her up into my arms. "Rose, what's the matter?"

She was sobbing louder now. "You know I don't like it when you use my name," she choked out.

I sighed. I knew that, but I didn't understand why it would make her more upset. I understood that she didn't like her name. Outdated, she said it was, but this was something different. I held her and rocked her in the shower until she calmed down.

"Edward, you're still wearing your pajama bottoms! Get out, I am fine, now. I just had a rough night, I'm sorry about that. I'm sure you didn't get enough sleep." She tried to push me away but I held on tight.

Her eyes were red and puffy, so she had been crying for a while. I felt helpless when she was like this. There would be times that I could feel that she was carrying a burden so heavy that she would break. Then she would have nightmares and I would help her calm down and see that she was here with me and she was okay. She would withdraw after that for a few days jumping at the slightest sound, and then out of the blue she would be alright again.

She smiled at me and rubbed her nose. "Go ahead, Edward, I'm done. Thank you for being here for me."

I helped her stand up and took off my bottoms. "Sorry, babe, but since I'm already in here, I am stealing some of your hot water to take a shower." I laughed and she just smacked my shoulder.

We both washed up and got out of the shower. Before I left she grabbed me and pulled me in for a deep kiss. "Mmmm. If you keep this up, maybe I will just be late for work today," I said and grabbed her ass to pull her closer to me.

She giggled. "Oh, and have the girls missing you? I don't think so; you know you're the highlight of their day, Dr. Cullen!"

"Yes, you know I can't disappoint my girls," I joked. Most of my patients had terminal illnesses and the girls made no effort to hide their crushes from me. It pained me to see children as sick as they were, but I did what I could for them. If I could make them smile or not hurt as much, then I felt like I was doing my job.

I told Rosalie goodbye, got into my Volvo and drove home. I needed to change into my work clothes and head to the hospital. It would be easier if I just kept some clothes at her house, but that was something that she had refused. She didn't want to get too involved, she had said to me. I thought back to what had happened this morning. Maybe she needed help for depression? She had her ups and downs, but sometimes her downs were so low that I tried to convince her to talk to someone about it, but she would always turn me down. She said that it only lasted for a few days and she was fine. I couldn't force her to see someone. That was a decision that she would have to make on her own, all I would do is be there for her and show her support.

After I got home and changed, I drove to the hospital. I was making my rounds when I noticed that it was almost noon. I could take a break now and have a short lunch before she has to start. She usually got here early if I was here just for that reason.

"Hey, Mike, will you keep an eye on Victoria for me? She had a fever and I want to make sure it doesn't come back. I'm going to take a lunch. Page me if you need me," I asked Dr. Newton, one of my close friends here.

"Sure thing, Edward," he called back.

I walked toward the elevator to head to the cafeteria. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and texted her to meet me there. I was always excited to see her and I felt that she was the one for me. Unfortunately, she didn't allow herself to show her feelings, but they were there. When she was not having nightmares, she was dreaming of me. This was when her talking in her sleep was beneficial. Many times in the last few months I heard her tell me that she loved me. I could see it in her eyes, too when we were together. When she would invite me to her house and we would make love I could feel that she wanted to break out of the wall that she built around her and expose her true feelings to me. That is what I would take for now. Until she was ready to understand that she would be okay allowing herself to love. Maybe something happened to her in the past that caused her to think that she is not allowed to feel that way. I don't know, but we would go through this together.

The elevator stopped and I got out and turned toward the cafeteria. _Odd, she has not texted back, _I thought. I decided to call her and got her voice mail. I shrugged my shoulders; maybe she was already waiting for me. I approached the cafeteria and looked around. No Rosalie in sight. My eyebrows furrowed. Maybe her cell phone needed to be charged and she didn't get my message. I turned around and got right back into the elevator. I pushed the fifth floor button to go to the maternity ward to see if she was there already. I looked at my watch and it was still only 11:45 so we still had time before her shift.

When I arrived the receptionist smiled. "Dr. Cullen, how are you?"

"Good, thank you. I'm looking for Ms. Hale. Is she here, yet?" I asked.

"No, not yet, do you want me to let her know you stopped by?"

"Yes, if you could. If she gets here with enough time before her shift, just let her know that I'm in the cafeteria," I replied.

She smiled and said, "Sure thing, she really gets excited when you are able to take breaks together, you know that?"

I laughed. "So do I. Thank you." I went back down to grab something to eat while I waited for her to show up. I was sitting down eating a ham sandwich and I noticed that it was already 12:15. She must not have had enough time to meet me before she had to clock in. I would see her tonight, then since we both got off at the same time.

**

The day went by quickly and by the time I finished my reports it was 9:30. _Shit, I was supposed to be out of here by nine. I wonder why Rose has not come by. _ She knew that some days my reports took longer than I expected so she would meet me in my office with coffee to wait until I was finished. I tried calling her again, but still got her voice mail.

I headed toward the maternity ward again and was met by a different receptionist.

"Hi, is Ms. Hale still here?" I asked.

"No, sorry Doctor, but she didn't show up to work today," she replied with a frown.

"Did she call? Is everything okay?" I was worried, since she didn't call me.

"Yes, some sort of family emergency-" she started but I ran to the elevator and pushed the button. It wouldn't come fast enough. I got tired of waiting so I ran to the stairs and took the five flights down and sped out the front door. I knew something was wrong, since she told me that her parents had passed away and she didn't know any of her extended family.

I drove to her house and I was grasping the steering wheel harder than I needed to. I cursed under my breath for not checking up on her earlier. What was wrong? Was she worse than I thought? Did I leave her when she needed me the most? Maybe she did have a family and didn't trust me enough to talk about it. All the worse scenarios were running through my head when I finally got to her house. It was dark inside. There was no car in the drive way and no sign of her being there. I walked up to her door and knocked. No answer. "Honey, are you there? Open the door!" I was thinking of ways to break into her house when I looked inside her window.

Everything was gone. There were scattered pieces of furniture here and there, but her bookshelves were empty. The glass figurines that sat on her mantel were gone. I went to her bedroom window and saw the same thing. It looked like she had packed all of her personal effects and left without a notice. There was still a box and a roll of tape lying on her bed. Her closets had been stripped bare.

"What the hell…?" I couldn't grasp what had happened. I knew that she had kept herself at a distance from me, but why wouldn't she tell me that she was leaving? I walked back to my car and got inside. I sat there for a while and tried to call her again. Still no answer. I slammed my fists on the console then started the car. I got home and opened the door. There was something on the floor.

When I picked it up, I noticed that it was a letter in Rosalie's handwriting.

_Edward,_

_I'm so sorry to do this to you. I don't have much time to explain everything, but I just wanted you to know that I am okay. I just cannot stay here anymore. This has nothing to do with you, there are just some things that I need to take care of and I hope you understand. Please, please don't look for me. You will not be able to find me. _

_I am taking a huge risk by telling you this, but I feel that you should know. I was a witness in a trial and even though he got life in prison, he still has ties on the outside. They felt it would be better for me to go into witness protection. The first time I was allowed to keep my first name, but I had to change my last name. They found me and they almost killed me. This time they were more cautious by changing both my last AND first names. That is why I didn't like you calling me Rosalie. It is a lie. Just like everything else that I have done to you in the past six months. For that I am sorry. There is no excuse for what happened between us. I knew that I might have to move away again, but there was something between us that just clicked and I let myself believe that it could work. I got a call that there were some agents on the way to pick me up. There had been a leak somewhere and my information fell into the wrong hands. They only gave me two hours to pack and be ready for them when they got here. I have already spent half that time thinking about what I would say to you. It thought it would be faster if I just wrote you this letter. I know that you probably have many questions. If there was any other way, I would do it. If I decided to leave the program to stay with you, then I would put you at risk and I will not do that. If things were different… No, there is no point in dwelling on 'if'. This is my life now. Again, I am sorry._

_Love,_

_Bella_

Bella? This whole time that we were together was a lie? No, not a lie, but a cover up. Why wouldn't she tell me? She didn't even trust me to tell me something like that. I shook my head. She was being careful, I would expect nothing else. I would have willingly taken her to another part of the country. I would move to another country if it would help her. Then she would have to leave the program to be with me… I wouldn't damn her to a life like that. I held on to the only thing that I could. 'Love, Bella' she wrote. After all this time, she finally expressed love…

**

_Two months later_

It took me a while to realize that what she did was for her safety. I didn't hold a grudge against her. How could I when I would have made her do the same thing if I had known? I did a lot of research on what she told me. Her name was Bella and she was a witness in a trial ten years ago against James Halston, and she did say that she was from Phoenix. I googled that information and after a few false leads I found the case that she was in. Her name was Bella Swan and she was a witness to a murder. Before the trial someone attempted to kidnap her and she was being held in protective custody.

I sat in front of my computer and stared at the photos of her being ushered in and out of the courthouse surrounded by police and I could see the look of fear in her eyes. The same look she would have when she woke up from her nightmares. My heart broke and I sent up a silent prayer that she would be safe. I checked my email before I would leave for work today and there was a message alert from the Arizona Republic newspaper. I signed up for these when I was doing my research. It made me feel like I could be a part of who she was, even though I didn't really know her.

I clicked on the link and skimmed through the daily news when I saw her smiling picture. The line underneath it made my blood run cold:

'_Witness in Halston case found murdered in Decatur, Illinois.'_

**A/N: The end. I know you might hate me, but not all stories have good endings, right? **


End file.
